


Big Hawk's Favourite Princess

by neuronary



Series: The Big Hawk Chronicles [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Because Ozai, Child Abuse, Gen, and it's completely thankless because of course it is, baby commits her first treason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22804744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neuronary/pseuds/neuronary
Summary: Or, Azula's adventures in (proper) treason.
Relationships: Azula & Big Hawk, Azula & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: The Big Hawk Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632730
Comments: 45
Kudos: 1602
Collections: Azula Likes Birds Cinematic Universe





	Big Hawk's Favourite Princess

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts), [queenbaskerville](https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbaskerville/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Salvage](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21116591) by [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/pseuds/MuffinLance). 



> enjoy some angst. azula is trying her whole entire best and the only person who is noticing is a bird. honestly, being good is far too much to ask of her.

The letter from the Water Tribe was barely legible. Azula blew heat out of her nose and wondered what exactly Azulon had been thinking when he’d started the raids. Of course they should have been monitored, but the sheer waste of the entire program put a bitter taste in her mouth. 20 years worth of labour, an entire prison complex, food and water, and the wasted potential of four hundred and twenty-two waterbenders that could have been put to work.

(Their engines ran on  _ steam _ .)

Azula made a mental note to add ‘education in the future colonies’ to her ever-growing list of projects for after she’d taken over the rest of the world, and scanned her father’s reply, sitting unsigned on his desk.

(It was written by a scribe.)

He was asking…

Oh.

Of course he was.

Azula dug her nails into her wrist until her stomach stopped sinking. She squinted again at the Water Tribe missive, trying to read this person’s how-had-they-not-been-smited-by-a-spirit-yet handwriting and commit their starting terms to memory. They were… overly simple. Was that it? A few warriors and a treaty? She must have missed something. Azula craned her neck and twisted it until.

Until she remembered that the Southern Water Tribe had only been fighting back for the past two years and prior to that had little to no experience with warfare or international politics. Azula created a subsection for her education programme. She might hole away in her rooms for a bit longer this afternoon, use up a few more sheets of that lovely paper Ty Lee had sent from the colonies. (They really were doing wonders over there, Azula had a meeting with the owner of the company in a month for an investment offer.) She might have a better chance of pulling this off, if they didn’t know how to negotiate, but she had to plan.

Outside, Big Hawk let out a warning chirp. Azula settled herself back into seiza immediately. It was only a few moments of waiting before Ozai entered, looking distinctly more ruffled than he likely had after leaving his last meeting.

(Big Hawk took pride in being inconveniently big. This included tripping up the Fire Lord at every given opportunity.)

\---

Azula pondered over the phrasing of her letter carefully. She would have to be upfront about her limitations, especially considering Ozai’s reply. It had flown out fourteen degrees ago. Big Hawk had seemed, as was normal for her, to understand the situation more than she should have, and squawked until Azula had lit her perch on fire. (She had squawked once, indignantly, after that, but otherwise settled down to sleep with her head under Azula’s papers.) Azula would also have to send a proper hawk. Big Hawk was far too conspicuous to be missing for so long. This wasn’t really a risk worth taking.

(They’d kill him if he wasn’t worth something.)

Two hawks flew out at dawn.

\---

_ Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, _

_ There are people in this world who have a vested interest in keeping Prince Zuko alive, but his Majesty Fire Lord Ozai is not one of them. _

_ I can arrange for the release of your soldiers if you provide me with names and information on when they were captured. If they are still alive, I will do so upon your reply. _

_ I would suggest referring to the General-Prince Iroh for further negotiations. This hawk will be able to track him. _

_ Crown Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, Granddaughter of Fire Lord Azulon and Fire Lady Ilah. _

\---

_ Zuko is alive. You will hear from his captors soon, provided everything goes to plan. _

_ Don’t screw it up. _

\---

Neither hawks made it far past the Caldera.

Ozai had the archer that shot them down break Azula’s wrist and threw her in the dungeons the second the palace doctor was finished.

\---

Big Hawk’s human was missing and everyone kept ignoring her when she shrieked at them and she had to fly too far for fish. She hated it here and it wasn’t safe and the man with the fish-hair-face had tried to kick her like she wouldn’t bite his foot for even trying but his feet were made of shiny stone and her human was  _ still missing _ .

\---

The guard outside Princess Azula’s cell was playing Mahjong when the world’s biggest messenger hawk (it had to be a messenger hawk, it came with a letter) crashed directly into him and gave him a distinct feeling of not-paid-enough-for-this. It was carrying a fish. And screaming at him.

The hawk crashed into the door, quite insistently, and dented it. The guard gulped, and opened it.

Watching a thirteen year old girl gut and cook a fish because her father is starving her is an unsettling experience. The guard outside Azula’s cell requested a transfer the next day.

\---

Azula begrudgingly let Big Hawk stay with her. It helped that she didn’t have a choice. (It also helped that her feathers were soft and warm in the way Azula remembered hugs from her brother to be. It certainly made up for the amount of space she took up on the blanket.)

**Author's Note:**

> this is pretty clumsily written because i'm exhausted, but i hope you enjoyed. there will be an eventual part three to this, once MuffinLance has finished Salvage because i want it to be canon-compliant. (and i didn't put this much effort into making it fit into Salvage so far just to go off the rails in 'Big Hawk's Favourite Prisoner'.)


End file.
